The Spanish Armada
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A dramatic blow-by-blow account of the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English fleet - a tale of daring and disaster on the high seas by one of our best narrative historians.
After the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, Protestant England was beset by the hostile Catholic powers of Europe - not least Spain. In October 1585 King Philip II of Spain declared his intention to destroy Protestant England and began preparing invasion plans, leading to an intense intelligence war between the two countries, culminating in the dramatic sea battles of 1588.
Robert Hutchinson's tautly written book is the first to examine this battle for intelligence, and uses everything from contemporary eye-witness accounts to papers held by the national archives in Spain and the UK to recount the dramatic battle that raged up the English Channel. Contrary to popular theory, the Armada was not defeated by superior English forces - in fact, Elizabeth I's parsimony meant that her ships had no munitions left by the time the Armada had fought its way up to the south coast of England. In reality it was a combination of inclement weather and bad luck that landed the killer blow on the Spanish forces, and of the 125 Spanish ships that set sail against England, only 60 limped home - the rest sunk or wrecked with barely a shot fired.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this engaging volume, archeologist and historian Hutchinson (Young Henry) sets out to overturn one of the cherished legends taught in British primary schools: that the Spanish Armada was valiantly turned back by heroic Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth's navy. Drawing heavily on the letters and accounts of witnesses and participants, Hutchinson lays out ample evidence that the Spanish ships sank more from happenstance than heroism. "Despite the triumphant claims by Elizabeth's government, this was not a crushing defeat inflicted by the queen's ships through overwhelming naval tactics," he says, noting that "all the Spanish casualties were lost in accidents or in the fierce storms that raged after the Armada had sailed north to Scotland." Dozens of ships foundered off the coast of Ireland without the English lifting a finger, and one massive warship exploded just out of range of English cannons the unconfirmed rumor was that "a gunner who had been cuckolded by a Spanish naval officer" took his revenge by setting alight a barrel of gunpowder. And as Hutchinson's engrossing work reveals, Drake's reputation as a pirate, if not as a commander, remains unsullied: repeatedly snubbing Elizabeth's top advisers and ignoring direct orders, he proved more interested in chasing after ships carrying Spanish gold than in any tactical concerns.
